Kael woke up the next morning, his right eye burning once again like fire. He couldn't tell what time it was, but by the sounds of the birds outside, he could tell it was early morning.
The room was dark. He couldn't see anything, but he felt a strange presence near him. He didn't know what it was, but the feeling creeped him out.
He came out of bed and sat on the edge. His body was covered in sweat, and he felt hot all over.
"What's happening to me?" Kael asked himself.
He was genuinely scared because his eye had also hurt last night.
His breathing grew faster and faster as his heartbeat increased. He was scared… really scared.
The pain in his right eye slowly started leaving, and after a few minutes, he was back to normal. As the pain faded, he felt relieved. It was as if his entire body felt relief as the pain subsided.
Kael sat up straight and removed his arm from his right thigh.
He breathed a deep breath. His pajamas were soaked with sweat.
"Should I tell mom and dad?" he asked himself.
But he brushed off the thought as soon as it came.
Kael sat there for the next couple of minutes, contemplating what he should do. He didn't want this to become a problem in the future.
"What can I do?" he asked himself, truly concerned.
But then a thought came to his mind that made him feel slightly relieved.
"Last time it happened was about a month ago… maybe it's caused by a certain thing. But what?" Kael continued contemplating.
Kael thought really hard about what could have triggered the pain in his eye.
But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't think of anything.
"Maybe it just happens," Kael thought to himself.
Kael then sighed.
"There's nothing I can do about it now since I don't know what causes it. Let's just hope it doesn't affect me every day," Kael thought to himself, acknowledging the fact that he couldn't figure out what was happening.
Kael then turned on his computer to look at the time.
It was currently 5:55 a.m.
The pain had made him wake up really early, something he wasn't used to.
Kael then heard voices from downstairs. His parents were awake.
His father usually had to go to work early. Kael had never asked his father what he did, but he did hear him talking with his mother about some tech stuff. Still, Kael never bothered about it.
"Honey, I'm going to be late," he heard his father say from downstairs.
"No you're not. You barely even finished breakfast," he heard his mother retort.
His father laughed slightly.
"I did eat enough. You just want me to be fat," his father said.
"Honey, you know I'm almost getting the promotion, so I have to be punctual," he added lovingly.
"Okay honey, and I know you're going to get it," his mother said.
"Okay, I have to go now," his father said.
Kael heard the front door open.
"Bye honey, and tell Kael I said bye," his father said.
"Okay, bye honey. Go safely," he heard his mother say as the front door closed.
Kael then heard the slow hum of their car as his father left for work.
Kael sat there, thinking about what he was going to do throughout the day.
He looked at the time again.
It was now 8:30.
He couldn't believe he had just sat there doing nothing, staring into the emptiness of his room.
It was now slightly bright, and he could see a bit.
His body was feeling better, although he couldn't get back to sleep.
"Guess I have to take a shower now," Kael thought, since he had sweated a lot when the pain tore through his body.
Kael stood up and did some stretches, his small body feeling slightly relieved.
He then took his towel and went to the bathroom.
He came out after a few minutes, his black hair still sparkling with water. It had gotten long now. He was sure his mother was going to cut it for him soon.
He then proceeded to change and sat down on his bed for a bit to meditate. He usually did not do this, but he decided on it today since the pain had really disturbed him.
After a few minutes of meditating, he opened his eyes and proceeded to go downstairs.
He walked down the stairs slowly. He wasn't in any hurry since he had woken up very early.
He passed the living room, then went straight to the dining room.
"Look who's up early," he heard his mother say as she came from the kitchen, smiling.
"Good morning, mom," Kael said, smiling.
His mother replied, "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"
Kael answered, "Yes I did, mom. What about you?" he asked.
"I did too," his mother said, sitting next to him.
"Tea's going to be ready in a few minutes," she added.
"Okay," Kael said.
"So, what are you going to do today?" she asked.
"I'll just explore, take a walk, and go into the forest a bit," Kael said.
"Are you going to play with your friend?" she asked, looking at him.
Kael paused for a bit.
"I don't know if she'll be there today, mom," Kael said while looking at his mother.
"Okay son," his mother said as she went to the kitchen to bring tea.
Kael continued sitting there, thinking if he would have any luck doing magic today.
After a few minutes, his mother came back with tea in a cup and a piece of bread on another plate.
She didn't have hers, maybe because she had taken it earlier.
Kael then ate hurriedly. He didn't have an appetite, but he didn't want to worry his mother, so he forced himself to eat.
He didn't know what was going on with his young body.
He finished, then proceeded to take the dishes to the kitchen since his mother was busy scrolling through something on her wrist link.
"Mom, I'll be heading out now," he said as he passed her and went to the front door.
"Okay son, make sure to come home early," his mother said.
Kael removed his slippers and wore his shoes at the front door, then proceeded to open it and go outside.
The early morning sunshine felt good on his face as he walked through the path.
The early morning breeze also felt nice on his skin. Kael walked more hurriedly than usual since he wanted to train before Clare came, if she would.
He didn't even enjoy the scenery like he usually did, since a lot was going through his mind because of what had happened to him in the morning.
Kael found himself on the soft path to the forest.
The forest seemed mystical and ancient as usual.
Kael closed his eyes as he walked and felt the mana all around him flowing peacefully.
After a few minutes, he found himself in the clearing. It was peaceful as usual, and the forest seemed extra alive today.
He walked slowly toward the rock in the middle of the clearing. His trusty stick, which was his makeshift sword, was laying there next to the rock.
But before he could train, he wanted to go to his soul realm. It had been long since he had.
He sat cross-legged and started focusing, then entered his soul realm.
Everything seemed usual as before. Most of everything was still greyed out.
But there was something different.
There was a swinging light blue glowing sword, and a figure with no features. It also seemed to be glowing blue too. The figure was holding the sword and swinging it.
As Kael saw it, he felt a sense of familiarity. The figure continued for a bit before disappearing.
Kael then continued investigating the soul realm. Everything felt usual, so he came out.
He then proceeded to pick up his stick and took a stance.
He closed his eyes and remembered the sword movements the figure in his soul realm was performing.
He tried to imitate them. At first, it was a bit sloppy, and his swings were heavy, but a month's worth of training was starting to show.
The swings became more and more perfect as he continued swinging. The swing was large, from top to bottom, forming an arc.
He continued until his arms started to feel heavy, but at least he had learned something new.
"So that's how you train," he heard a young girl's voice say.
Kael looked back and saw Clare entering the clearing, her wand floating by her side.
"Hello," Kael greeted her as he put his stick on the ground.
"Hi," she said.
Kael then added, "Yes, this is how I usually train."
Clare tilted her head.
"It's really weird. You should be focusing more on magic," she added.
Kael sat down because he was tired.
"No, I like using the sword," he said, smiling. "Even though I don't have one, I will soon," he added.
"You're still weird, aren't you?" she said as she sat down next to him.
She then looked at him and asked, "Did you try and practice on your own at home?"
Kael replied, "I did, but nothing happened. I guess I need a wand."
Clare puffed up and said pridefully, "See? I told you yesterday was just a fluke," she laughed slightly.
Kael frowned.
"Yeah, yeah, you were right," he said.
"So you want to practice now?" she asked.
Kael thought for a bit, then answered, "I'll give it one shot. But I'm here… I'll borrow your wand, okay?"
She paused a bit.
"Okay," she said as she handed him her wand.
Kael grabbed the wand and did as she had told him yesterday.
He tried his best to focus and visualize the mana ball in his head. He didn't know if something was happening because he had closed his eyes.
The mana ball in his mind was almost formed as he tried his best to visualize it.
Clare observed as a mana ball began to form in his hand, but it disappeared just as it appeared.
Kael opened his eyes. He was tired from all the mana he had used.
Clare was still looking at him.
"Maybe you're not good at magic," she said bluntly.
Kael looked at her, smiling.
"I think so too."
But as Kael looked at the trees, the crow was there too, and as he made eye contact, he heard a woman's voice laugh softly in his head.
"Did you hear that…?" Kael asked Clare, slightly distraught.